Threads of Fate
by FenrirSinclair
Summary: Minato had but one wish- to be free of the great seal. Elizabeth granted that wish. What they didn't know was that destiny isn't fair. If Minato won't be the seal, someone else must be.
1. Unweaving Destiny

A/N- Sinclair here, randomly decided to write a Persona 3 fanfiction.

He had long grown used to the emptiness of the void around him, the lack of sound and of anything interesting to look at had long grown old. The only thing in this gigantic space was the gleaming golden door that he would make sure never opened, no matter how much it had cost him. He was the only thing preventing the stupidity of humanity from killing itself, no matter how sick of it he grew. It was a job only he could do, and would do, not for humanity; but for those few he had come to love and respect on his journey here.

He had been cold and apathetic at the beginning of said journey, letting the world rush by him as he kept his own world, safe behind his headphones. Junpei Iori, no matter how stupid or jealous he got, was the man he would always consider to be his best friend, because Junpei was the first person to go out of his way to crack open his outer shell. Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, and Akihiko Sanada all might have gone out of their way to befriend him, but that was only to try and get him to work with them during the dark hour. At first anyway.

Between trying to manage social links and work together with everyone in SEES, he was suddenly interacting in a world he had wanted no place in, and he was loving it. The world that his friends were living in was the one he would always protect, no matter how stupid the others in it were, because it was also _his _world.

He only wished had had more time in it now, having felt like he had wasted all the years in his life aside from his last one. Having had one last glance at his friends as they appeared in front of him, he knew that they would be okay without him.

The trashing they gave Erebus seemed to indicate that anyway.

A roar in the distance caught his attention, as he noticed the giant, mutilated hand of Erebus reach for him once again. Beginning to brace himself for the power struggle, he stopped when he noticed the small figure standing fearlessly before the giant beast.

A blue stewardess dress and hair that was a shade too disgustingly bright- _Elizabeth_, he realized.

He heard her demure voice over Erebus's roar, the beast clearly agitated for being challenged yet again,"Again you rise to try and break the seal, and again I shall utterly destroy you for trying to do so, Thanatos!" Elizabeth yelled, snapping open _her_ compendium and summoning _his _persona. Thanatos came forth with a challenging roar, that same roar he remembered hearing on the rooftop, all those years ago.

Elizabeth raised her hand again and he blinked as all three of his guests disappeared, only to frown as he felt the sheer power of the spell used to destroy Erebus, it's energy rippling through the air even where he was.

She reappeared in front of him again, smiling in satisfaction as Thanatos let out a roar of victory.

Elizabeth turned to face him, her smile growing even broader as she approached the seal, closing the compendium with a snap, making Thanatos disappear mid-roar.

It's roar echoed around the silent void.

"Minato-sama, I do believe I have found a way to free you from the seal!" Elizabeth crowned, jumping into the air in excitement.

Minato himself let out a shocked gasp, having thought it impossible to be free of his duty.

"It may not work, so I do apologize if I got your hopes up for no reason," She continued, making Minato frown irritation at the woman, before he just shrugged and continued to watch her.

Elizabeth nodded to herself in self-confidence before flicking open the compendium again, "Norn!" She intoned this time, a blue aura spiking up around her.

As a giant clock surrounded by three goddesses appeared in front of the seal, Minato remembered Norn, the persona he had obtained for maximizing his social link with Keisuke.

"You see, Norn is responsible for weaving fates, and controlling destiny. Now then.. Norn, free Minato-sama from his fate of being the seal that prevents Nyx from destroying humanity!" Commanded Elizabeth, pointing the compendium toward the seal and looking as authoritative as Minato had ever seen her.

Norn floated still for a moment, before a green aura burst around it and the distinct sound of three women singing came forward. What Minato thought looked like an ethereal blue thread appeared before Norn, wiggling in front of Norn until it connected to the seal.

For an eternity, Minato held his breath.

'_As we bring forth hope, we bring forth toil' _ The three women seemed to sing, as the thread attached to the seal went stiff. A red thread, seeming of almost an opposite color to his blue appeared next to his thread, wrapping around it.

'_We alter fate, we cheat destiny. Be free from yours, and let those unknown to you bear it so' _The three women sung yet again, as the two threads severed suddenly. The severed ends connected to opposite colors, with the red thread now connecting to the seal and the blue thread floating free.

Minato felt himself begin to float free, and darkness began to override his vision.

'_Beware now, lest you become connected once more' _ The three women's voices sang before fading out.

While wondering exactly what the warning the three had given him meant, Minato heard Elizabeth call out ,"See you on the otherside, as I do believe they say, Minato-sama,"

And then everything went dark.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry. The next stop is Iwatodai..."

Minato Arisato awoke with a startled gasp,blinking as the familiar sounds of '_Burn my Dread'_ registered on his ears. Gasping air down greedily, he realized he was back on a train, with his headphones on.

Barely able to register that Elizabeth's plan had worked, he gingerly took his headphones off, clicked his media player to check the time, then froze at what it said.

**-4/06/09 11:45 pm-**

Unable to comprehend this new information, Minato relaxed back into his seat and tried to figure out what was going on. Clearly Elizabeth's plan had worked and he had been freed from the seal, but he was sent back in _time!?_ He almost wrote the idea off as ridiculous, but upon the thought that he summoned monsters from his head by shooting himself in the head with a fake gun, he figured anything could happen.

Upon further reflection, he realized that this was actually a great thing. He would be able to fix all of the mistakes he had made his first time around, like letting Shinji die. So wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice the finger aiming to poke him in his forehead until after it did.

Minato wasn't proud, but he jumped, badly.

Hearing the sound of a woman's laugh in front of him, he quickly trained his vision on the culprit in order to find out who had poked him, but stopped in surprise when he did.

A young woman with the reddest eyes stared back into his cobalt ones, and like him, she was wearing the Gekkoukan uniform.

Surprised that he was unable to remember her despite living through an entire year at said school, he couldn't help but stare at her in shock.

"You know, I thought you looked pretty sharp since you shared my taste in headphones, but I'm beginning to wonder if that's true," The auburn haired woman teased, a grin splitting her face at his dumbfounded look.

Snapping his thoughts back into place, Minato bit back ,"Sorry, wasn't expecting to be bothered the very moment I woke up from my deep sleep. Didn't know anyone so rude would be on the train."

Blushing a little, the girl frowned ,"You sure did sleep plenty! You were asleep so long I was beginning to think you were dead, so it was only friendly concern! Not rude!"

Minato snorted, "I was breathing, right?" he asked, enjoying the irritated look on her face.

"Well, maybe you got apathy syndrome or something! How would I know!" The girl practically shouted, causing a few other people to stare at them

Her declaration stopped Minato short, as he remembered all of the people he had seen fall victim to apathy syndrome. Unable to contain the bitter thoughts that came from such thoughts, he couldn't help but start to wonder if he would end up in the seal again, and if he really would be able to stop all of the bad things from happening again. As Minato wondered on again, he again did not notice the finger that was about to poke him in the forehead, again.

Minato jumped badly. Again.

"Goddamnit woman don't do that!" Minato yelled, unable to handle the surprise with the stress he had been feeling.

Instead of looking sorry, the girl only smirked, "You didn't even notice the train stop, did you?" She asked, gesturing to the open doors.

"I've got a lot on my mind is all," Said Minato, ignoring the girl and standing up, walking towards the doors. He couldn't help but groan a little as she started following him though.

"Oh, it shows," She replied, grinning as she danced past him, "Where are you heading now anyway?"

"Iwatodai Dorm, I'll be attending Gekkoukan, obviously," Minato answered blithely, trying to walk ahead of her.

"Iwatodai, huh? That's where I'm going!" She replied excitedly, getting to the exit before him and stopping, "Wow, the moon sure is big!"

"You're going to Iwatodai?" Minato asked, barely noticing the moon as he began to wonder what was going on.

"Yea! I'm an only child so-"

**-12:00 am-**

The auburn haired girl stopped and let out a shriek as the world around them changed. Humans all around them became coffins as the sky turned green, and the water all around changed into blood.

In the distance Minato could see Tartarus rise against the skyline, taking it's place as the tower of demise.

"C'mon, let's get to dorm." Said Minato suddenly, grabbing the girl by the arm and cutting her off mid-sentence.

"But, the coffins and the blood!" She protested suddenly, letting herself be dragged by him.

"What are you talking about?" Minato feigned confusion, not wanting anyone to know about his knowledge of the dark hour, especially someone he didn't know.

"I-" She started, before falling silent. He released her arm and she followed behind him silently, clicking her dead media player.

Intentionally going the long way to dorm, Minato stopped as it came into view,"There, Iwatodai dorm," He said, looking back at her for the first time.

She looked utterly confused.

"Let's go inside, right?" He asked, getting a nod out of her.

As he walked in he saw the 'contract' he had signed on the counter exactly where it was the first time, and froze, suddenly worried he might not be able to escape his destiny after all.

"Welcome." Came a young boy's voice, one Minato knew too well.

Pharos had appeared behind the counter, putting both arms on it next to the contract and pouting, "You're late. I've been waiting a long time"

"S-sorry, I didn't notice you there," Said the auburn, clearly having jumped badly at Pharos's sudden voice.

Minato narrowed his eyes.

"If you want to proceed, then please sign here. It's a contract. There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions." Said Pharos, his pout becoming an eerie smile.

"I refuse," Said Minato calmly, knowing he didn't need to sign the contract this time around, already having his own powers and having no interest in becoming the seal a second time.

"Oh, don't worry. It's not for you, it's for her!" Crowned Pharos, freezing Minato's blood and thought process.

"Oh, where do I sign?" Asked the girl, clearly not noticing the dark atmosphere.

As the girl moved forward and signed her name on the contract, Minato helplessly looked on, and was shocked again.

**Hamuko Arisato**

And suddenly Minato realized why he no longer was bound to become the great seal.

Hamuko Arisato, not Minato Arisato, was now bound to become the great seal. With this realization came a terrible twisting feeling upon his heart- he had damned her with his freedom.

"...Very well. Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same  
end. Wishing won't make it go away. And so it begins.." said Pharos, winking at Minato before fading away.

"Where'd he-" Began Hamuko, looking over the desk for Pharos before being cut off.

"Who's there!? How can you be... But it's...! Don't tell me..." Came a voice Minato instantly recognized as Yukari's.

"Is that a gun!" Asked Hamuko in shock, staring at Yukari's sudden appearance from the shadows in fear.

Minato was still too caught up in realization to care.

"Takeba, wait!" Came another voice Minato recognized as Mitsuru's.

At that moment the dark hour ended, light suddenly flickering back on in the dorm exposing everyone.

"I didn't think you two would arrive so late. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." Said Mitsuru, pushing Yukari's evoker downwards in an obvious attempt to calm the girl down.

"And they are?" Asked Yukari, looking annoyed as she put the evoker back in it's holster.

"Transfer students. It was a last minute decision to move them in here. Surprisingly they both share the same surname, Arisato, but have no relation to each other, right?" Asked Mitsuru in, what was to Minato, an obvious attempt to move the conversation away from Yukari's evoker.

"Your last name it Arisato too?" Asked Hamuko excitedly, twisting the knife in his heart deeper.

"Minato Arisato," He answered, refusing to look her in the eyes as he ground the words out, "I'm tired, second floor, last door on the right, right?" Minato asked Yukari, confusing her as he already began to walk in the direction of the stairs.

Mitsuru came to Yukari's rescue, "Yes, last door on the right. Though I must ask how you know that, as these room assignments were rather last minute," Said Mitsuru, a hint of suspicion lacing her words.

Without acknowledging that he had heard her, Minato raised his left arm over his shoulder, "Goodnight," He said, heading up the stairs and out of sight.

As he walked down the darkened hallway towards his room, he was totally silent, not allowing himself to think.

As he walked into the room he knew so well, he moved his chair towards his mirror, climbed on top of it, and grabbed the small camera that was installed there. Without a thought he tossed it onto his desk before climbing down.

Now in total privacy, he slammed his right fist down onto the desk in anger.

Minato couldn't help but be happy he was free from the seal, but how was it fair for another person to be damned to take his place in it! It wasn't, and he knew that.

In the darkness of his room he swore then and there that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, and to prevent her from becoming the seal.

No matter the cost.

A/N- So yea, took all of three hours to write this.

If I do more, I'll make the next chapters much bigger.

Anyway, leave a review if you'd like to see more


	2. A few surprises

A/N- Sinclair here- A little text heavy, this one, but I needed to out of the way to get to the awesome battle fun time that is Tartarus. Seriously.

* * *

'_There's nothing we can do!?' No.. There's always a way._

'_Don't give up! We have to believe in him!' Believe in.. me? _

'_Give him strength! Take my life if you must!' Mitsuru, I.. _

_He could feel the power they were giving to him._

_He stood, defiant against the overwhelming power of death._

'_Yeah, I'm willing to risk mine, too!' Risking their lives for me.. Why?_

'_He's going to face it all by himself!' That's right. Because everything depended on me._

'_No! He's not alone! I won't let him die!' Right, my friends.. will always be there with me._

_He felt unstoppable, knowing his friends were right there with him._

_Even as death was set upon him, he stood stalwart, ungiving._

_*Bark**Bark* _

'_I won't allow this world to be destroyed!'_

'_Alright, let's do this.'_

_He realized he was no longer bound by the rules of the universe; that he alone had achieved the power to create a miracle. _

_This was his answer: All he had to do was raise his hand and-_

"Walk up already, you freaking zombie!"

Minato Arisato awoke with a groan, opening his eyes slowly as they adjusted to the light coming into his room from the window. As he his eyes finally adjusted he let another groan.

Hamuko was sitting in his desk chair and spinning around in it like a top, giggling the whole time. She stopped momentarily, looking at him with a smile that Minato knew would dazzle even Shinji's heart, "Good morning Sleepyhead, now get up and get ready. Yukari-chan says we have to go to school soon." Hamuko said with a grin, before spinning in his chair again.

Minato blinked at her a couple of times before turning over and putting his head back on the pillow.

"Hey! Yukari-chan told me to wake you up, so wake up!" Protested Hamuko, stopping her spinning in order to watch Minato closer.

"Did Yukari-san say to come into my room?" Asked Minato sleepily, trying to pretend she wasn't really there. Last night was his first time sleeping in years, and he had decided he would get more sleep no matter what!

The question clearly flustered Hamuko who looked a little surprised, "Well, no.. But how else do you wake a person up!" She asked, looking at the back of Minato's head angrily.

"Knocking?" Retorted Minato, barely keeping up with the conversation as he started to doze off again.

"Well I tried knocking! But you were sleeping like the dead! So I just let myself in and then I noticed your chair and it looked fun to spin in so I- Hey! Are you even awake!?" Demanded Hamuko, noticing Minato's light snores.

Not receiving a response, Hamuko's irritated look slowly melted into an evil one as she slowly stood up and sprang on top of the sleeping Minato.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later a still-tired Minato walked downstairs fully dressed for school, with a bickering Hamuko behind him, "You totally weren't asleep!" Shouted Hamuko, blushing for some unknown reason.

Minato turned his head backwards towards her, "I was totally asleep. It's your fault for jumping on top of me while I slept." He said lazily, noting Yukari waiting by the door for them and giving her a lazy wave.

Yukari returned his wave with one of her own before giggling, "You look like a zombie, Arisato-san." Said Yukari, unable to stop laughing at his deadpan glare.

"What! I do not look like a zombie!" Protested Hamuko angrily, glaring at Yukari.

"Oh, I meant the other.. Arisato-san." Said Yukari, looking between the two of them in confusion.

"Oh, oops." Said Hamuko while blushing slightly for her mistake.

"Let's just get going, the sooner we get there the sooner I can take another nap." Said Minato, stifling a yawn with his right hand.

With a nod of agreement Yukari opened the door, with Hamuko and Minato following her. Even though Minato was well aware of how to get to the school himself, he was happy to get the chance to talk to Yukari again. She might not have remembered him, but anything was better than the silence of the seal. Hamuko eventually started asking Yukari plenty of questions about the school, making Minato slow down to let the two girls talk in front of him.

Just the small things like being able to walk around and enjoy the view of Tatsumi Port Island were something he realized he had dearly missed during his time as the seal. Thinking of the seal again made him stare at Hamuko's back, making him wonder just how much they had in common. Had her parents died ten years ago on the bridge as well? How was it that she remained so happy and open while he himself had closed himself to the world?

As they walked onto the monorail Minato notice Hamuko turn her head to look at him, and he hastily turned his head away to make it seem like he hadn't been looking at her. After a couple of seconds Minato looked back, surprised to see her still looking at him.

"You're still thinking about earlier, aren't you?" Demanded Hamuko, a blush rising to her face.

Minato blinked a couple of times before he laughed, "Actually, I forgot about all of that. Thanks for the reminder."

Yukari looked between the two in confusion, "Wait, what happened this morning? You two didn't do anything.. weird, right?" She asked in a scandalized tone.

Hamuko blush rose in color as Minato started laughing even harder, making Yukari look at them warily.

'Well, whatever happened just make sure you two don't tell anyone about what happened last night, alright?" Yukari asked, choosing to turn and face the window after getting a nod from Hamuko and Minato, "This is my favourite part... when it feels like you're gliding over the sea" Said Yukari, gesturing out the window as the sea appeared.

Minato took the view in in silence as well, having never thought he would see it again.

"Anyway, now we just get off and then we're at school," Said Yukari, pointing towards a building in the distance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they walked into Gekkoukan High, Yukari turned around to look at them, "You're okay from here, right? You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The Faculty Office is right there to the left."

"Uhm, how do we figure out who our homeroom teacher is?" Asked Hamuko, trying to get a better view of the school over the crowds of people walking in.

Yukari slapped her hand to her face in embarrassment, "Right, they'll be posted on the bulletin board. We can all go look together."

Minato nodded in agreement as the three slowly made their way through the crowd towards the board.

"Ah, I'm in class 2-F! What about you guys?" Asked Yukari, turning to face them after finding her name.

"I can't find Minato or myself!" Complained Hamuko, looking at the board intently.

Smirking, Minato pointed to the end of the board where he already knew his name would be, but stopped in surprise when he saw what classroom he was in.

**Hamuko Arisato: Classroom 2-F**

**Minato Arisato: Classroom 3-F**

"Woah, I didn't realize you were older than us, Minato-senpai!" Exclaimed Hamuko in surprise, looking at him in shock.

"Heh, you're in the same class as Mitsuru-senpai. You must be pretty smart," Said Yukari, also looking at him in surprise.

"I'm not any older than you," Said Minato absently, still surprised.

"Oh, so you're like super smart or something?" Asked Hamuko, looking even more surprised.

Minato shook his head absently before deciding that fate had it out for him, then started walking towards the staff room.

"Oi, wait for me!" Shouted Hamuko, before chasing him.

As they walked into the staff room together Minato noticed Toriumi doing last second paperwork in the same place as last time. Not knowing who to approach now, he lead Hamuko up to her.

Toriumi looked up and noticed them approaching together before nodding, "Oh, are you the new students? Eleventh and twelfth grade, correct?" She asked, getting a stoic nod out of Minato and an excited one from Hamuko.

"Wow, you've both lived in a lot of different places. Let's see... In 1999... That was what, ten years ago? Both of your parents-" Toriumi abruptly cut off as she figured out what she was reading. Minato carefully observed Hamuko for her reaction and wasn't surprised to see her smile fade into a frown. Her frown faded fast however, as she turned and looked at him with concern, making Minato shrug awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. I've been so busy, I didn't have time to read this beforehand. I'm Ms. Toriumi, I teach Composition. Welcome to our school!" Said Toriumi with enthusiasm, clearly trying to make up for her previous blunder.

"Its nice to meet you!" Exclaimed Hamuko, making Toriumi laugh at her obvious excitement.

"Anyway, Have you two seen the classroom assignments? Hamuko-san you're in 2-F; that's my class, Minato-san you're in Mr. Suou's class in 3-F. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Follow me," Explained Toriumi before standing up to lead them to the auditorium.

Minato grinned as he put on his headphones; The principal's speech would make a good time to get some extra sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As he walked out of the auditorium Minato frowned as he realized he had no idea where classroom 3-F was. Assuming it to be on the third floor Minato had never bothered checking out during his previous time here, he began to diligently trudge up the stairs until he noticed a flash of red hair.

"Mitsuru-san!" Minato called out, knowing that their was no one else in Gekkoukan with hair as red as hers.

Mitsuru looked around in confusion before seeing him, and with a curious face she started walking towards him, "What is it Arisato-san? Right now we should be heading towards our respective classes. Being on time is very important, even if you are new here." She chided gently, thinking Minato was going to ask her a pointless question.

"Ah, that's just it. I have no idea where class 3-F is, and Yukari-san mentioned that it was the class you were in as well. I was hoping you could show me the way?" Minato asked, putting his headphones away after noticing that she had been staring at where they rested on his collar in irritation.

"You're in class 3-F? But I know for a fact that you are a year too young to- Ah, I see. There was probably a mistake when you transferred in. We can speak to the teacher of 3-F to verify this." Reasoned out Mitsuru, grabbing his arm when he didn't follow her immediately.

As he was lead through the throng of people, Mitsuru spoke up, "What do you think of Gekkoukan so far?"

Minato frowned in thought as he tried to work out a reasonable answer, "I rather like the school itself, and the other students here all seem like they're all really into something or other. The principal on the other hand, seems rather.. dull?"

Mitsuru let out a small laugh, "He's a decent principal, but his speeches could use a little more work." Said Mitsuru, laughing as she approached a closed door, "And here is classroom 3-F, shall we?" She asked, opening the door and gesturing for him to follow her with a tilt of her head.

Classroom 3-F was nearly devoid of people, with the man who was obviously the teacher writing on the whiteboard.

Mitsuru approached him, "Suou-sensei, I do believe there has been a mistake in the classroom arrangement of Minato Arisato. He's supposed to be in this class, but he's a year younger then a third-year student."

Without stopping his writing Suou let out a sigh, rubbing his brown hair with his free hand, "There's no mistake, Kirijo-san. Arisato-san skipped a grade because of his recent national qualifying test results." He explained, shocking both Mitsuru and Minato.

"Really? What rank were you?" Mitsuru asked Minato, surprise evident in her voice.

Having no idea himself what his rank was, Minato stayed silent.

Suou laughed at his blank face, "Modest are you? Arisato-san recieved 1st in his grade's national testing. The decision to put him in his third year when he transferred here was made by the administration."

Mitsuru looked very shocked before glaring at him, "Well, you could have explained that. I looked a fool coming in here thinking you should be moved to another class," She said in an irritated tone of voice, before she smiled, "Nonetheless, I'm rather pleased to see that someone else in our dorm will be taking studying just as importantly as myself."

Minato smiled at her pleased look, before hearing the rest of the assembled class whisper about how they shared a dorm.

It was going to be a long day, Minato suddenly realized.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minato had been seated next to Mitsuru, something he had enjoyed right until he decided to take his first cat nap of the day. As he slowly drifted off, a textbook slammed onto his desk, making him jump badly and look around warily. To his right stood Mitsuru, standing above him with her culture textbook in her hands. Mitsuru's glare was as frightening as he remembered.

"Stay awake in class or I will _execute _you." Said Mitsuru with frightening calm, making Minato nod his head at her lest he displease her.

"Kirijo, if you're done disciplining Arisato, then maybe you could let us get back to class?" Asked Suou from the front, making Mitsuru and Minato blush as they realized the whole class was staring at them. Mitsuru sat down with lightning speed.

"Arisato, since you feel that you can nap in my class, answer the question- What's the capital of Morocco?" Asked Suou, looking directly at Minato.

Minato frowned knowing that he had no idea what the capital of Morocco was, or even where Morocco was located, having never studied anything about Morocco.

So he had to suddenly wonder why he felt he _did _know the answer, "It's Rabat?" Minato said, or more or less asked.

Suou's face showed no surprise, but his voice did, "It is. I see you didn't earn first place for nothing then. Moving on class, Rabat is the capital city, but Morocco's largest and most famous city is Casablanca-"

Minato tuned the man out and tried to figure out what just happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the bell that ended the day rang, Minato just gave Mitsuru a lazy wave before he exited the class in a hurry, hoping to find Junpei before he left school.

As he walked down the stairs, he heard Junpei's voice speaking above all of the others, "Hey, did anyone tell you about the school clubs yet? Girls can join too, so why not do it if you're interested? You'd be joining as a new member, though, so you won't be able to  
apply for a little while."

As Minato cleared the final stair, he grinned when he saw Junpei talking to Hamuko, trying to look smart and intelligent, but clearly failing. Hamuko seemed just as amused at Junpei's reactions as Minato himself.

Noticing him approach, Hamuko called out to him, "Minato-san! How was your day?" she asked as he drew closer to the pair. Junpei seemed at least mildly bummed out by his approach, having probably been hoping to have Hamuko to himself all day.

"Alright, but Mitsuru-san is a little bit of a slave driver, in all honesty," He replied, before turning to Junpei, "I'm Minato Arisato, you are?" He asked, offering his hand to Junpei.

Junpei grasped it with an enthusiastic grin, "Junpei Iori, nice to meet you dude! Are you two related? I mean, your last names?"

Shaking his head, Minato let out a humorless laugh, "No relation"

Junpei sighed a little again, and his grin lost a little of it's enthusiasm, before it returned full force, "Alright, let's all go get a bowl of ramen! It'll be your guys treat from good ol' Junpei, alright?" he asked, looking expectantly at them.

"Yes captain!" Shouted Hamuko while saluting, making Junpei laugh.

Minato just nodded his agreement, making Junpei grin as they walked out of the school doors together.

As they walked and talked on the way to Hagakure, Minato accidently bumped Hamuko, before he apologized. She laughed it off before whipping her head around to glare at him, "That's right! I'm still mad at you for this morning!" Hamuko said, pouting at Minato.

"This morning?" Asked Junpei, looking between the two in confusion, "Wait! You two share the same dorm!?" he asked in surprise.

"With Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada, and Yukari Takeba, yes." Said Minato, before looking over at Hamuko, "And that was all your fault! What was I supposed to do? Lay there like a log while you jumped me?"

Junpei, who had already been crying at the unfairness of life, stopped and looked up in shock, "You jumped him, what?"

Hamuko blushed, realizing how wrong that sounded, "No! Well, yes, but not like how you think! It was only because he wouldn't wake up!" She shouted, her blush becoming more prominent as Junpei's look got even more slackened.

Minato sighed, knowing Junpei's brain was going to overload soon, "No, it's not like how you think Junpei."

Junpei looked at him with eyes returning to focus, "It's not? Then what happened?"

Minato laughed a little, before glancing at the blushing Hamuko out of the corner of his eyes, "She jumped on top of me this morning because I ignored her when she came to wake me up. She didn't realize i'm a light sleeper, so when I heard her coming I jumped and braced myself. End result? I totally groped her on accident," Said Minato slyly, laughing as Hamuko buried her face in her hands.

"Dude!" Shouted Junpei excitedly, putting up a hand for a high five which Minato returned with a resounding smack. Junpei's grin faded when he realized that Hamuko was giving him a death glare, " I mean, dude!" Said Junpei much more solemnly, trying to look as disproving as possible and failing miserably.

Junpei managed to hold his disapproving face for a few more seconds before they all burst out laughing at how bad he looked doing it.

This, thought Minato amidst his laughs, was what he wanted to protect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Minato and Hamuko walked back into dorm together, Minato couldn't help but smirk at the memory of Junpei's face when he ordered the secret Hagakure bowl. Nor the face Junpei made when he saw how much the Hagakure bowl costed.

The lobby was empty, and after signing the sign-in sheet Minato made to walk to his dorm room but Hamuko's voice stopped him short, "Alright, I forgive you for what you did this morning!"

Minato turned around with a bit of a grin on his face, "Just don't do it again. I like my sleep," And with that said, he started walking back to his room again, but was once again stopped short by her voice.

"You saw that boy last night, right? I asked Yukari about him, and she told me that there was no little boy living here, and that there was no contract like the one I had to sign, either." Said Hamuko, making him turn and face her. Her face was pointed towards the ground, causing a shadow to cover her eyes from his sight.

Knowing that lying would be pointless, Minato nodded, "I saw him and that contract. So no, don't worry. You're not going crazy or something," Said Minato, knowing that was how he felt the last time around as he slowly began to realize the dark hour existed.

Hamuko lifted her head upwards and locked her vermillion eyes with his for a second, before breaking out into a grin, "That's good to know! I seriously thought I was going crazy or something!"

"If that's all, I want to go get more sleep now." Said Minato, slowly turning away before he started up the stair again.

"Minato!" Hamuko called out again, making him groan as he turned to face her once more.

"What is it?" He asked irritably, a frown on his face as he thought about how lovely sleeping was going to be.

"Thank you!" Hamuko said brightly, giving him another dazzling smile.

Minato's face turned dark, and he turned away from her and began to walk up the stair once more. On the last step to the next floor he stopped, "I could never pay you back enough for what I've done. Save your thanks." He said quietly, before stepping onto the next floor, leaving Hamuko confused.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day Minato barely paid attention to his school, his mind too preoccupied with all of the different things he would need to do keep everyone safe-

Deal with Strega, keep Shinjiro and Ken alive.

Deal with Ikutsuki, keep Mitsuru's father alive.

And of course, figure out how to prevent Hamuko from becoming the seal.

Minato had decided he would become the seal again if it was the only option, but he would rather find some other way to prevent anyone from becoming the seal.

There was also the question of his new ability to answer just about any random question. While not the worst thing that could happen, he was still wondering _how _it had happened.

As Minato hurried out of school in order to return to the dorm, he noticed Junpei and Hamuko hanging out again. Just as he began to call out to them, he stopped, realizing that he would have time to hang out with his friends after he made sure none of them would be hurt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Minato walked into dorm, he froze as he heard a laugh he was all too familiar with.

Shuji Ikutsuki, the murderous bastard, was sitting down in the living room by himself, no doubt laughing at his own lame puns. Trying to keep his cool as he walked past him, Minato's will was challenged when he heard Ikutsuki speak, "So, this is one of our new guests. Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school."

Minato kept cool, despite his desire to hurt the man in front of him, "Minato Arisato." he said evenly, trying to keep his features passive.

Ikutsuki laughed as though he had thought of some inner joke that was funny only to him, "Right, our new resident genius. I apologize for the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?" he asked, his glasses shining with a strange malice Minato hadn't noticed his first time around.

"Nothing," Minato practically spat, before turning around and walking towards the stairs.

"You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookwork'! Please forgive the bad pun." Said Ikutsuki's fading voice as Minato rushed up the stairs.  
Punching the wall in anger at his inability to prove that Ikutsuki was doing anything wrong, Minato stormed into his room. After checking to make sure the camera they had placed in his room was still on his desk, he pulled out a notebook and started writing down different ideas on how to change things.

Having sat there for what felt like hours burning through every conceivable idea he could think of, Minato wearily laid down in his bed before checking the time.

**-11:39 pm-**

Deciding it was late enough, he laid his head down on his pillows and felt his weary mind begin to drift off into sleep.

That was, until he heard a piano slowly play music that made him feel at ease, coupled with the most beautiful singing he had heard since-

Minato opened his eyes.

"Welcome to to the velvet room! My name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance.. once again!"

Across from him sat that short man with bloodshot eyes and a nose too long- Igor.

"I find it most peculiar to find you back here after witnessing your journey come to a close, might I ask exactly how it is you found your way back here?" Asked Igor, leaning forward slightly.

"You could ask me, but I think Elizabeth could give you a better answer. Where is she, anyway?" Asked Minato, his eyes having scanned the familiar room for any of sign of her.

"My boy, Elizabeth left this room years ago in order to find a way to free you of your burden." Explained Igor, looking at Minato curiously.

"What? But she found a way- it sent me back in time! She should be here now." Argued Minato, confused.

"Ahh, I see now. I feel I must explain to you- The velvet room lies beyond your mortal world flow of time and space. Even should you have found your way back in time, this room will only keep moving forward in time, being unaffected by your world." Said Igor, looking rather shocked, but still rather unsurprised, "I'm afraid I have no assitant ready to aid you. I have never had the chance to welcome a guest back to the velvet room after they themselves were done with it, so this is rather... _exciting _for me." Said Igor, giving Minato a large smile full of sharp teeth.

"Then what am I doing here?" Asked Minato blankly, looking at Igor in irritation.

"Who knows! Not I! And isn't that just thrilling! But whatever the matter, you coming here must have some reason! So I shall once again give you this key, for you to use as you please." Said Igor, handing the velvet room key to Minato across the table.

"Very well then, until next time.." Said Igor, laughing as Minato's vision began to grow dark.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minato paid no attention to school the next day, something which Mitsuru noticed and tried to change to no effect. The fight against the first full-moon shadow would be tonight and Minato was utterly nervous about it. He knew that none of the shadows would have a chance against him, but he couldn't help but worry that something could be different this time around that would make things end much worse than they had last time.

He was really hoping to keep Hamuko out of the hospital too.

Once school had ended, he decided to go back straight to dorm and was surprised to see Hamuko doing the same thing as him. They walked together in silence the entire way to dorm, right up to the door, at which point Minato turned around and looked her straight in the eyes.

"When the time comes... pull the trigger." Minato said, walking into the dorm without her.

Once he was in his room Minato sighed, before laying down to try and sleep knowing he would need the energy later that night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How are they?" Asked Ikutsuki, the light reflecting off of his glasses hiding his eyes.

"Well, Hamuko-san is resting peacefully, but Minato-san seems to have found his camera and removed it," Explained Mitsuru, looking over the large command console.

"How interesting that she's doing so well. She shows a remarkable lack of strain for being in the dark hour. It's too bad we can't observe the boy as well. I was hoping to learn more about him," Said Ikutsuki, staring into the monitor that showed Hamuko's resting image.

"I don't like this! We're practically treating them like guinea pigs or something," Protested Yukari in discomfort.

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard that the girl's in your class... Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with someone from the same grade? A female classmate, at that?" Asked Ikutsuki, looking over at Yukari with the slightest bit of irritation.

"Well, I'd be a little more comfortabl-"

An alarm bell started ringing, cutting Yukari off mid sentence as all three leaned over to the intercom, "Is that you, Akihiko?" Asked Mitsuru, concern evident in her voice.

"You're not gonna believe this! This thing is huge! Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk. It's chasing me. I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there!" Came Akihiko's short reply, sounding rushed as he panted from obvious running.

"He's bringing it here!?" Screech Yukari, terrified at the thought of a giant shadow.

"Observations are over! Yukari, wake them up and lead them away from the battle. Mr. Chairmen, I'll be heading downstairs to assist Akihiko!" Commanded Mitsuru, getting a nod out of Yukari as they rushed off, leaving the grinning chairmen behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minato awoke to banging on his door and Yukari's voice screaming at him to get out of his room. Suddenly awake and aware of what was going on, Minato rushed to his door and unlocked it, opening it in a hurry. His brain froze for a moment when he saw Hamuko in nothing but a red night dress that barely went to her mid-thigh.

Hamuko blushed when she saw his stare, and seemingly tried to hide behind a naginata she'd been holding.

"This isn't the time for that!" Shout Yukari, looking between Minato and Hamuko who nodded and focused, "Here, take this." said Yukari, practically shoving a short sword into his hands.

"Will you tell me what's going on now?" Asked Hamuko, as they started to run downstairs together.

"No time! We gotta get out the back door, now!" Shouted Yukari, as they sprinted towards the exit door.

The exit door that suddenly shook as something crashed into it from the outside.

Yukari froze for a moment before running back up the stairs, "Change of plans, we'll run upstairs!" She shouted, as Hamuko yelled in agreement while Minato stayed silent.

As they returned to the second floor, a loud banging noise made it apparent that the shadow was following them and they kept running, all the way up to the roof.

"We should be safe here," Said Yukari, breathing out a sigh of relief as she locked the door to inside the dorm behind her.

Minato noticed Hamuko shivering slightly from the wind now that they were on the roof, before he heard it; it sounded like a thousand little squishy bugs being crunched.

Then the mask appeared over the edge of the roof, being held up by one of the shadow's many hands.

Minato heard Yukari mutter her disbelief as the shadow climbed over the edge, and noticed Hamuko edge closer to him and Yukari, clearly terrified.

As the shadow drew it's swords, Yukari spoke up, "It's alright, I can do this," Minato turned to see her with her evoker out.

"Yukari, don't!" Shouted Hamuko, clearly thinking the evoker to be a gun.

Yukari stumbled for a second though, having stopped to figure out what Hamuko meant.

That moment was all the shadow needed, closing the gap between Yukari and itself in a second, sending her flying with a well timed spell. Yukari's evoker flew from her hand to Hamuko's feet.

Hamuko paused to stare at it, seemingly in her own world as the shadow slowly rounded on her, recognizing the threat the evoker presented. As Hamuko slowly reached down as if in a trace, the shadow began to move towards her at a steady rate. Instead of looking afraid at the approaching shadow, Hamuko seemed stuck staring at the evoker in her hands.

Then her eyes widened as she saw the young boy once again, pretending to aim a gun at his own head.

Then Minato's words hit her.

From a distance, Minato watched in fear as Hamuko stood there, frozen from the world as the shadow drew closer to her.

He relaxed once he saw her quietly say to herself "_pull the trigger"._

With no hesitation she pulled the gun to her head, shouted, 'Persona!" and pulled.

A blue flame like aura sprung up around her as a persona Minato recognized as Orpheus, yet clearly more feminine than his Orpheus, appeared.

'_I am Orpheus, master of strings' _A female voice rose from her Orpheus as a psychotic grin spread across Hamuko's face. Her grin from summoning her persona disappeared however, as a bolt of pain shot through her head. Thanatos suddenly tore itself out from Orpheus, and roared as it descended upon the now terrified shadow.

It wasn't a battle, it was a slaughter.

Thanatos whipped it's sword forward, bisecting most of the shadow. Thanatos then tore into the shadow with it's bear hands, ripping, tearing and generally killing the unlucky shadow.

Crushing one last wriggling hand that it had held, Thanatos returned to the air with a victorious roar, before suddenly shifting back into the female Orpheus from before.

Rushing over to Hamuko, Minato couldn't help but smile as she pulled herself to her feet and gave him a V for victory, making the female Orpheus disappear. She stopped however, as the destroyed masses of shadows pulled themselves together, forming a large amount of weak shadows.

As the shadows began moving towards them Hamuko once again raised the evoker to her head in preparation for the coming fight, only to jump a little as Minato put his hand over hers.

He lead the evoker over to his own head, surprising her with a smile.

"I am your damnation," Minato said, shocking her, "But... I'm also your guardian angel. I couldn't think of a better persona than this."

His finger was coiled around her as he pulled the trigger, making her pull it with him.

A massive blue aura exploded from him as a beautiful being Hamuko could only describe as an angel appeared before them.

"Helel. Morning Star." Commanded Minato, his eyes glowing from the sheer power he was giving off, making Hamuko shiver slightly.

The clouds parted as a giant burst of light illuminated the night sky for miles away.

As the light faded away leaving nothing but glowing feathers in it's wake, Hamuko looked into Minato's eyes, unable to help but wonder-

'_Who are you?'_

* * *

A/N- So there we go.

I put Minato into a higher class because I can, why not? I get to play around with Mitsuru inside school now, if I want to as well. I used Helel as his persona for symbolism- if you didn't manage to figure that one out; Minato likens himself to a fallen guardian angel. He fell, screwed someone else over, and is protecting them now. That, and I love how Morning Star looks.

Anyway, yea, leave a review and all if you all'd like too.

If not, bugger off.


	3. Tower of Demise

A/N-Sinclair here, do enjoy the chapter of thirds.

* * *

"Chairmen! Where did they go!?" Demanded Mitsuru as she rushed into the command center, Akihiko behind her.

"To the roof, see?" Said Ikutsuki, motioning to the monitor which was showing Yukari get blown back by the large shadow's spell.

"Well? What are we waiting for! Let's go help them already!" Shouted Akihiko, turning to run out the door with Mitsuru at his side.

"Wait!" Yelled Ikutsuki, drawing a confused look from both Akihiko and Mitsuru, "Look," He said simply, pointing at the monitor.

As they stared into the screen both let out a shocked gasp as they saw Hamuko put the gun to her head and pull the trigger, leading to a flash of light as Orpheus appeared.

"As we suspected.." Said Mitsuru, drawing a nod from Akihiko and Ikutsuki.

They all let out a surprised gasp again however, as Thanatos burst forth from Orpheus and annihilated the shadow completely, leaving nothing more than little bits to squiggle on the ground helplessly.

"What was that?" Asked Akihiko, surprised when neither Mitsuru or Ikutsuki answered him. Looking at Mitsuru curiously, he was surprised to see her biting her lip and looking down, looking distraught. As he was about to speak up he couldn't help but notice the shadows forming out of the corner of his eye, "Crap, that's more than a newbie can handle. I'm going to get out there and help-"" Akihiko said, stopping as he saw Minato guide the evoker to his head, Minato's hand now wrapped around Hamuko's.

They all waited with baited breath as they saw him whisper something to Hamuko, before he pulled the trigger.

The image of a six-winged angel was all they saw before a flash of light lanced down, blinding the cameras. Eventually, the image just turned to static.

"What power.." Said Mitsuru, staring at the the blank screen in shock.

Neither Mitsuru nor Akihiko noticed the irritated frown that had wormed it's way onto Ikutsuki's face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minato smiled as he closed his eyes, feeling Hamuko's gaze upon him as he let Helel disappear. Slowly he let the evoker fall from it's place of rest against his head, before he released his hand from Hamuko's, making her jump slightly.

"You alright?" Minato asked Hamuko casually, staring straight into her eyes.

Hamuko's face erupted into a firestorm of red before she averted her eyes, "I'm fine, a light headache maybe, but that's all. What exactly did you mean by damna-" Started Hamuko, only to frown as Minato shook his head.

"Questions for another time, perhaps." he said coolly, walking over to where Yukari was still crumpled on the ground. A closer examination showed that she had smacked her head against the wall when she was blown away, Minato noted, frowning as he noticed a small amount of blood dripping from the back of Yukari's head.

"But I-!" protested Hamuko, stopping as she let out a gasp, realizing Yukari's state.

It was at this moment that the door to the roof burst open, Mitsuru and Akihiko flying from it. They both took a moment to analyze the situation, Mitsuru rushing over to Yukari's side as Akihiko took his time looking, making sure there were no enemies.

As Akihiko's eye swept over to where Hamuko stood, she suddenly remembered that she was only wearing a rather revealing nightgown. Barely thinking about it, Hamuko blushed and ran over to where Minato was, sitting down next to him and clinging to his arm in order to hide from Akihiko, making Akihiko chuckle slightly before he felt the serious aura coming off of Minato and Mitsuru.

"Severe head trauma. She could have a concussion," Said Mitsuru, her voice fraught with worry as she gingerly examined Yukari's head.

"We need to get her medical treatment as soon as possible, how much longer until the dark hour ends?" Asked Minato, forgetting about trying to keep his cover in the heat of the moment. He had barely registered that Hamuko was clinging to him.

"I don't know! Electricity doesn't work in the dark hour!" Shouted Mitsuru, losing her cool as she realized the full gravity of the situation.

Akihiko blinked as he heard them shout with increasing desperation, stopping as he remembered something. Reaching into a pocket on the inside of his vest, he pulled out an old pocket watch," Hey! We still have another twenty minutes until the dark hour ends, guys." He said, looking at the watch in his hand.

Minato and Mitsuru both fell silent at that, staring at Yukari helplessly.

Hamuko frowned at the tense atmosphere, before she tugged on Minato's arm, "Hey, can't you just heal her using that big angel thing?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

Minato frowned before nearly slapping himself in the face. He was so caught up in the moment that he forgot about using his persona to heal her.

"Evoker." Minato said, reaching his right hand towards her having finally realized she was holding onto his left arm.

"What's an evoker?" Asked Hamuko blankly, looking at him in confusion.

"The gun," Clarified Mitsuru, staring at Minato in confusion.

Minato suddenly realized he had blown a lot of his cover.

Obediently Hamuko passed it to him, and as he stood up he gave her a curious look as she did as well, still clinging to him. Hamuko pointedly stared at Akihiko until he realized that she was using him to hide from Akihiko's line of sight. Rolling his eyes at her, he pulled the evoker to his head and fired in one swift motion, with a cry of, "Persona!"

Helel manifested once more in all his glory upon the rooftop, shocking Akihiko and Mitsuru who hadn't gotten a good look at it before. Raising a right hand towards Yukari, Helel closed his eyes as a bright aura surrounded her.

"Her wound is closing!" Yelled Mitsuru, slumping over in shock.

Minato smiled as Helel disappeared, "That should keep her stable for now, but we should still take her to the hospital once the dark hour ends."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The entire group of persona users, now that Hamuko had thrown on her school uniform, plus Ikutsuki were assembled in the lobby as paramedics took Yukari out to an ambulance on a stretcher.

"Akihiko, Minato-san, you'll be coming with me to the hospital. Hamuko-san, stay here and keep an eye on things please?" Said Mitsuru, looking out the front door blankly.

"Hey! I wanna come with too! I deserve to know what the heck is going on!" Shouted Hamuko, looking at Mitsuru in frustration.

Mitsuru sighed, before turning to look at Hamuko, "Tomorrow, I'll explain everything. Please just be patient until then." She said, before giving Minato and Akihiko a pointed look and walking out the door.

Minato followed both her and Akihiko out the door before turning around and giving Hamuko a smile, then closing the door and stepping into the ambulance, sitting beside Akihiko.

The ride to the hospital had been awkwardly quiet, with everyone too busy focusing on their individual thoughts to want to talk. Eventually though, Minato noticed Akihiko staring at the watch he had been carrying in his pocket ,"That's rather smart of you to carry around, Akihiko-san." Minato said, not remembering Akihiko carry it around his last time around.

Akihiko jumped a little at his name, before stopping to figure out what was said, "Ah, yea. A friend of mine gave it to me a long time ago, actually. After figuring out that it still worked in the dark hour because it's a wind up watch, I made a habit out of making sure to wind it up once a day," Said Akihiko, staring down at the watch in his hands.

The remainder of the ride to the hospital was one of silence, but much less awkward this time around.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After listening to a doctor ramble on about how lucky Yukari was that she hadn't suffered a major concussion, Minato sighed.

His first big test to see if he could change anything, and instead on himself or Hamuko, it was Yukari who ended up needing to go to the hospital. He had also blown a large amount of his cover by exposing that he knew about the dark hour and evokers, but he shrugged that off, having already thought up a good lie in order to cover his ass.

As the doctor finally finished talking things through with Mitsuru and left, she rounded upon him with a demanding glare, "Explain" Was all she said, looking directly into his eyes.

Sighing again, Minato shrugged, "Explain what, exactly?"

"Explain how you know about the dark hour, how you know what an evoker is, and explain how you were able to summon your persona so easily!" Demanded Mitsuru frostily, her voice just shy of yelling,

Minato held her gaze for a little bit, before nodding in agreement, "For ten years now I've been experiencing the dark hour" He lied, staring into her eyes.

Both Mitsuru and Akihiko reacted as though they had been hit, Mitsuru letting out a shocked, "_What!"_

Minato shrugged carelessly, enjoying this more than he knew he should, "Ten years ago I saw that same beast Hamuko summoned fight some girl who shot bullets from her fingers on the rainbow bridge. That raging beast killed my parents. I've known about the dark hour ever since." He explained, ignoring the shocked looks on both Mitsuru's and Akihiko's faces.

"As for knowing about the evoker, that was just dumb luck. We evoke our personas from our minds, so I simply called the tool an evoker," He continued, smiling at Mitsuru's thoughtful face.

"And my persona? I don't know about that one. Calling it out just felt.. Natural, I guess. Maybe that's a side effect of living in the dark hour for so long." Minato finished, thoroughly pleased with his lie.

"I.. See.." Was all Mitsuru said, looking down at the floor in shock.

Akihiko just stood there and thought about it, before shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I'm just glad to have someone as strong as you on our side. I know we haven't been properly introduced, I'm Akihiko Sanada." He said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Minato took it, "Minato Arisato." Was all he said, getting a sly grin out of Akihiko.

Mitsuru looked at the two of them in surprise, clearly not expecting them to turn the atmosphere in the room lighter so simply, "You two.." She trailed off in surprise, looking between them as they stared at her in confusion.

"Hey, Akihiko-san," Said Minato, now looking at Mitsuru.

"Yes, Minato-san?" Asked Akihiko, mirroring his move to look at Mitsuru.

"I think we broke our Ice queen," Said Minato solemnly, before he and Akihiko broke down laughing at Mitsuru's stupefied look.

Mitsuru frowned before smiling at the two of them eerily, "_Execution."_

The many staff members of the hospital began to grow concerned at the sound of two men screaming in pain and fear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Truding into the dorm while wincing with a similarly sore Akihiko and a smirking Mitsuru, Minato said goodnight to the two of them before heading into his own room to get what little sleep he could before he had to wake up for school.

As he opened his door, he was surprised to see Hamuko sleeping in his bed, still in her school uniform. Realizing she had probably wanted to talk to him, he let out a sigh before nudging her shoulder.

Her eyes opened blearily, as she stared at him in confusion, "Why are you in my room?" She asked in confusion,

Minato chuckled softly before raising his hands upwards and gesturing to the dark room around them, "I do believe that that's my question."

Hamuko sat up and looked around, before looking at him with a smile, "Right! I was waiting for you, sorry I must've fallen asleep~!" She said, pulling herself out of his bed.

Minato's left eyebrow rose, "And you couldn't wait for me, say, downstairs in the lobby where one would normally wait for someone?" He asked, sarcasm flowing as he locked eyes with her.

Hamuko blushed, averting her eyes from his, "I wanted to talk to _you_, not Mitsuru-senpai or Akihiko-senpai. If I'd have waited down there I'm sure one of them would have hung around to listen." She explained, returning her gaze upon his.

That, Minato decided, was probably true, "Fair enough, so long as this doesn't become a habit," He said, meaning her visiting his room at night, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"How's Yukari-chan doing?" Hamuko asked immediately, as her features darkened a bit.

Minato chuckled, "She'll make a full recovery. From what they can tell, she might have a minor concussion, but that's it. She'll stay in the hospital for a few more days under observation, but that's it" Said Minato, smiling as Hamuko visibly brightened.

"That's great... It was my fault she got hurt in the first place, after all," Said Hamuko, frowning a bit.

"What do you mean?" Asked Minato, now concerned.

"When Yukari put the evoker to her head, I told her to stop. If I didn't do that, I bet she'd have been just fine," Said Hamuko darkly, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin atop them.

"You thought she was putting a gun to her head, i don't think you're at fault for telling her to stop. Not to mention that she's going to be just fine," Said Minato, looking intently into her eyes to convey his point.

Hamuko nodded slowly, before a grin spread across her face, "She's only fine because you were there to heal her. Fixing the problem just like a Guardian Angel, huh~?" Hamuko teased, trying to bring a blush to Minato's face.

Minato however, looked incredibly serious at her words, "Yes," Was all he said, bring her to a shocked silence.

They stayed that way for a few moments, staring into each others eyes before Hamuko frowned, "What did you mean by 'I am your damnation'?" She asked, her vermillion eyes staring into his soul.

Not wanting to lie to her, Minato averted his eyes, "I can't tell you about that." Was all he said, feeling a knife twist his way into his heart once more.

Hamuko stared at him for a while longer, before suddenly standing up and heading towards his door. As she quietly opened it, she looked back to him.

Instead of frowning or looking angry like he had expected her to, she was smiling.

"I guess I can trust my Guardian Angel with a few secrets, goodnight!" Was all she said, and with a wink she shut his door, leaving him alone in the darkness.

He stared at the door blankly, not knowing how to feel.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**-4/11 Morning-**

Minato yawned as he turned his alarm clock off, having grown rather used to having a school schedule again.

The next few days had passed by rather quickly, the only important thing that happened being when Mitsuru explained the dark hour to Hamuko, then offered for them to join SEES.

They had both joined, of course.

Minato was pretty sure that the blank stare Hamuko had gotten after they joined was a pretty good indicator that she was having to do social links, just as he had.

School had went by slowly, with classes often turning into Minato writing down everything that had happened on his journey in chronological order, trying to figure out different ways to change things. Mitsuru had thought that he was simply taking detailed notes during class and had complimented his diligence in doing so, making him chuckle slightly.

As he walked into the school again, he smiled as he saw Hamuko talking excitedly to Junpei and Yukari in front of the hallway to the faculty office, the latter of which had been released from the hospital the previous day. Hamuko's eyes seemed to suddenly zero in on him, before she smiled and waved to him, something he lazily returned as he began walking up the stairs.

As he walked into classroom 3-F, he realized that something was off with the feel of the classroom. While the students would normally be chatting and gossiping, they were suddenly quiet and reserved. It took Minato a couple of seconds to figure out why.

Shinjiro Aragaki, awesome beanie and all, was sitting in the back of the classroom, looking all the world like he had no interest in being there.

All of the other students were sitting around him nervously, shooting him looks like he was going to explode on them or something, making Minato grin slightly. Realizing that Shinji was sizing him up, Minato walked towards him, "I don't believe I've seen you in our class before, might I ask what you're doing here?" He asked, deliberately planning to mess with Shinji.

Last year he had been one of those students that were scared to look at the guy, but now that he was a badass, messing with him sounded like too much fun.

Shinji's glare focused on him, but after seeing Minato meet it head on without so much as a twitch, he shrugged, "I didn't really feel like coming to school those other days. Not really sure why I did now," He said carelessly, leaning back in his seat and putting his feet on the desk.

Minato just shrugged and took his seat; which was the one directly in front of the seat Shinji had stolen.

The two stayed quiet until Mitsuru walked into the room, and after she noticed the odd feel of the classroom, she noticed Shiji as well.

She reacted as though she had been struck, "Shinji..."

Shinji, who had had his eyes closed, opened them and his mouth in irritation, only to close them and look away when he realized it was Mitsuru standing in front of him.

Suddenly Shinji stood up from his seat, "Figures you'd be here. I'm just gonna go now." he said, rushing to get to the exit but frowning when somebody grabbed his arm.

Turning to look, his frown morphed into a glare when he saw Minato holding his right arm, not allowing him to leave, "I'm pretty sure Mitsuru-san would appreciate it if you didn't leave." Said Minato slowly, glaring right back at Shinji.

"It's none of you goddamn business what I do!" Yelled Shinji, trying to tear his arm away from Minato and failing.

"Minato-san.. It's fine." Said Mitsuru, still looking at Shinji sadly.

"Nope, it's my problem now." Said Minato flippantly, causing Mitsuru to gape at him.

"Tch," was all the noise Shinji made, before swinging his head backwards in preparation for a headbutt.

Having expected it, Minato swung his head backwards as well.

Their heads crashed together in a solid thunk, glaring at each other eye to eye as they pushed their foreheads together, struggling for dominance. They stayed that way for a few more seconds until, unexpectedly, Shinji drew back laughing.

"You get that same goddamn look Aki does when he's being stubborn about something," He explained, moving to sit back down.

Surprised, Minato released his arm.

"I'll play good student for now," said Shinji, smirking as he sat back down.

Minato smiled at Mitsuru's grateful look.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**-4/21 Evening-**

Mitsuru had called for all of them to assemble in the command center to, as Minato assumed, introduce Junpei to the group and begin their exploration of Tartarus.

As he, Yukari and Hamuko all walked up the stairs together, Minato couldn't help but smile, knowing that Junpei would be great to have around.

As they entered the room, Minato couldn't help but glare at Ikutsuki. Eventually they all sat down in different spots inside the command room, Akihiko grinned at them before exiting the room, confusing Yukari and Hamuko.

"We've been waiting for you," Said Mitsuru, looking between the three of them with a slight smile, "We've found another person with the potential. They've just agreed to join SEES." She explained, sounding pleased with herself.

"Sweet!" Exclaimed Hamuko and Yukari, exchanging a hive five, "Who is it?" Asked Yukari, looking excited as the door opened.

Her excited smile turned into a scowl of disapproval as Junpei walked into the room with his obviously packed to the brim bag.

"Sup!" Said Junpei, grinning like the idiot he was as he fully entered the room, Akihiko behind him.

"No no no no noo! It can't be Junpei!" Bemoaned Yukari, going overboard with drama.

"This is Junpei Iori from Class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today" Explained Akihiko rather pointlessly, as Minato and Junpei high fived.

Yukari's head smacked against the table in the middle of the room as she slumped over, making almost everyone laugh at her.

"Jeez Yuka-tan, way to make a guy feel welcome," Grumbled Junpei, being the only not to laugh at her actions.

"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently. I told him about us, and he agreed to help." Explained Akihiko again, once he stopped laughing.

"He found me crying' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I don't remember much, but, man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal, at first. Like, being confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?" Asked Junpei, looking more proud than embarrassed.

"I was just fine though!" Interjected Hamuko, looking at Junpei like he'd grown a second head.

"Me too," Added Minato, grinning as he saw Junpei squirm a little from all the negative attention he'd put on himself.

"Must be some weird Arisato thing," Junpei decided, making Minato laugh.

"Well, you guys all clearly know each other. Good, that'll make this easier. I think it's about time." Said Akihiko, looking at Mitsuru and receiving a nod from her.  
Ikutsuki suddenly spoke up from where he'd been sitting, "I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But that number recently jumped to six. Therefore, starting tonight at twelve AM, I'd like to commence the exploration  
of Tartarus." He explained, glasses glinting as he did so.

"What kind of name is Tartarus? Sounds like some kind of toothpaste," Joked Junpei, surprised when all he received was serious stares.

"Tartarus was essentially the greek version of hell, Junpei. You can assume that the place we're going to isn't going to be fun and games," Explained Minato, drawing surprised looks from everyone aside from Mitsuru, who looked pleased at his explanation.

"Oh." Was all Junpei said, looking a little put-out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is the greek version of hell!? I always knew school was evil, but, come on!" Shouted Junpei, staring at the gates to Gekkoukan in confusion.

For the most part, everyone ignored him, focused on the building in front of him.

Akihiko clicked open his pocket watch, "Twenty seconds, guys." He said, putting it back into his vest pocket.

Curious, Hamuko and Junpei watched with shock as the school in front of them warped into a twisted tower, looking completely out of place on the skyline it sat upon.

"That, is Tartarus," Explained Akihiko, moving towards the school gate and pulling it open, "You guys coming?" He asked, looking at Hamuko and Junpei, who were still shocked.

"What happened to our school?" Demanded Junpei, still not understanding what was going on.

"It only takes this form during the dark hour, after which it reverts back to normal like nothing ever happened." Explained Mitsuru, who was following after Akihiko.

"Okay, but why _our _school?" Asked Junpei, staring at Mitsuru. When she offered no answer he chuckled, "So you guys don't even know, huh?"

"It's probably complicated!" Argued Yukari, feeling the need to dispute Junpei.

Well, maybe now we'll find out. Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it. There has to be some sort of clue in there about the Dark Hour!" said Akihiko, peeking his head out from behind the gate, "Now hurry up, we only have one hour to explore this thing!"

Getting nods of agreement from everyone, they proceeded to enter Tartarus together.

Minato was pleased to see that the main lobby hadn't changed, the stairs leading into a wall shaped like a giant clock. He grinned when he saw the velvet room door glowing faintly.

"Mitsuru won't let me go in there with you guys, and she has to stay here to offer you guys support, so it's just going to be you four today," Explained Akihiko, pointing to the door at the top of the stairs.

"Just us?" Asked Yukari worriedly, looking at Junpei.

"Ha! Never fear, Junpei here will keep you safe, Yuka-tan!" Said Junpei, noticing her stare.

Yukari sighed, "That's what I was worried about."

Akihiko ignored them, "I'll be appointing one of you guys a leader, and I want the rest of you guys to listen to what they have to say, okay?" he said, looking at the four of them sternly.

"Oh, oh! Pick me!" Shouted Junpei, reaching his hand upwards like a student trying to answer a question in class.

Akihiko chuckled at his enthusiasm, before pointing at Minato, "You'll be leading them today." he said, grinning when Minato nodded back at him.

"What! Why him?" Asked Junpei, pouting.

"Minato's already fought them before, not to mention he can summon his persona without any difficulty, unlike you and Yukari-san. Plus, he has the added bonus of being respected by everyone here, since I've noticed Yukari-san here probably wouldn't want to follow any orders you give" Explained Akihiko, looking at Junpei sternly.

"Oh," Was all Junpei said, having not expected such a complete answer.

Minato, who had been watching them with amusement, looked over to see Hamuko leaving from the velvet room. He knew that it simply looked like she was staring out into space to the others, "Back to earth?" he teased, grinning as she started to blush.

"Yes, of course! What'd I miss?" Hamuko asked, grinning as everyone gave her a weird look.

"I'm the boss once we're inside the tower," Said Minato, laughing as she nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they destroyed another group of cowardly mayas, Minato kept a trained eye on all of their actions. He was slightly disappointed by Yukari and Junpei, but that was only to be expected after working with more experienced versions of themselves who handled their weapons and personas with ease. Hamuko on the other hand, impressed him greatly. She handled her naginata with surprising grace, and was summoning her Orpheus with ease, having eliminated a group of mayas be herself.

'_Behind you!' _Came Mitsuru's cry, as a group of mayas Minato hadn't noticed snuck up behind them.

Junpei, with a cry of, "Batter up!" rushed into them swinging his two-handed sword like a baseball bat, before being overwhelmed. As he realized that Hamuko and Yukari were too far away to save him, Minato put his evoker to his head and pulled the trigger.

Helel, almost too big to fit inside the corridor that they were in opened his closed eyes as the entire group of mayas exploded in the flames of a maragidyne.

'_Well done' _Came Mitsuru's voice in their heads, making Minato smile a little.

Junpei, who had watched as Helel disappeared with star-struck eyes ran over to Minato, "Dude, that was awesome!"

"Don't run ahead like that anymore Junpei. If I wasn't here you could have been seriously injured," Said Minato seriously, making Junpei look at the ground in shame as Yukari chuckled.

Hamuko, who had been silent through the whole exchange, spoke up,"Hey, does anyone else hear that noise?" She asked, cupping a hand to one ear.

"What noise?" Asked Junpei, as the group fell silent.

"I don't know.. It sounds like rattling chains," Said Hamuko slowly, carefully listening.

Minato froze as he heard her words, listening intently himself. Sure enough, he could hear the rattling of chains,sounding like the souls of the tormented screaming in anguish.

"We need to leave, NOW!" Minato yelled, shocking the other three.

'_I sense.. death?' _Came Mitsuru's confused voice, _'You should find an access point and leave immediately' _She urged, sounding worried.

The group of persona users rushed down the twisting halls of Tartarus, desperately searching for an access point as the sound of rattling chains grew louder.

As they rounded another corner, the group stopped short.

Pointed at them was the ridiculously long barrel of a gigantic magnum.

"Damn It!" Yelled Minato, staring at the grotesque face of the monster who floated before them.

The Reaper had come, and the bell was ringing for the members of SEES.

* * *

A/N-Cliffhanger, MWAHAHAHAHA!

That aside, no worries about me seeing this through to the end. I want to write my own unique story, and I'm using this story to test a couple of things- To see if people actually enjoying my writing, and to test my own resolve in writing a large story.

So I shall persevere until the very end to finish this, unless my dreams of being a writer suddenly die.


End file.
